''Genshiken'', [[PortmanteauSeriesNickname short for]] ''Gendai Shikaku Bunka Kenkyuukai'' (or ''The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture''), is the story of the members of this ostensibly-useless club. Formed in the past as a sort of bridge between the manga, anime, and gaming clubs, most members of those three are at best indifferent to the continued existence of the Genshiken. The new extracurricular activities board has decided to close all clubs who don't hold any meaningful activities, the Genshiken is among them, and it's up to its members to do something that prevents the club from getting closed.

From obsessing over a favorite anime to buying and reading [[FanFic doujinshi]], from playing one's first DatingSim to attending a convention (the anime's "[=ComiFes=]" is a direct play on the real-life "[=ComiKet=]", which is held twice yearly), and many other things along the way, ''Genshiken'' puts the {{otaku}} culture under the microscope for all to see.

Comparisons to ''OtakuNoVideo'' are nearly inevitable, though ''Genshiken'' is much more down-to-earth. (No creating a giant one-off Macross that can actually take off, for instance.)

''Genshiken'' also had a [[ShowWithinAShow companion anime]] (in the manga, it was a companion manga, naturally) called ''KujibikiUnbalance''. It was the series that the members of the Genshiken obsessed over, and was the BonusEpisode for the series' disc release (one episode per disc). It turned out to be so popular that it is now being produced as a separate series in its own right.

A three episode {{OVA}} series was released with the ''KujibikiUnbalance'' [=DVDs=], much the same way as the three [=OVAs=] of the first ''Kujiun'' were released with Genshiken Season 1. A second full season was released in the fall of 2007 and [[AdaptationDistillation covers some of the remaining plot from the manga]], while simultaneously [[AdaptationExpansion introducing original material]], though this meant the entire manga couldn't be animated [[LeftHanging within the season]].

In November 2010, [[UnCanceled the series is back up again]] as ''Genshiken Nidaime'' (''Genshiken: Second Season'' in the North American release) starting with Chapter 56, which was released as a bonus together with the Japanese ''Genshiken 2'' box-set that covered the start of a new Genshiken headed by Oguie and continuing in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon magazine. Originally ''Nidaime'' was intended as a limited-run continuation that was only to last a volume or two, but it has since been picked up for regular serialization and the volume collections are published as volume 10+ of the original series, instead of as a new title.

A new anime began airing in July 2013, adapting the ''Nidaime'' material. It is unknown what, if anything, will be done with the material from volumes 8 and 9 of the manga.

There is also a novel entitled ''Genshiken: Return of the Otaku''.----!!This series provides examples of:

* AccentUponTheWrongSyllable: Evident at points with all of the English spoken in the anime, though most obvious with Ohno.* TheAce: Kousaka, in a more down-to-Earth version than most Aces. He is good-looking, athletic, and taught himself how to program in a month.* ACupAngst: Saki and Kitagawa, when they see Ohno.* {{Adorkable}}: Madarame. "He's actually kind of {{moe}}, isn't he?"* AirplaneOfLove* AnimalEaredHeadband: Ohno tries thoughout the manga to get Saki to wear a cat-eared one. Also, Madarame once put one on her, and she responded by chasing him through the halls with a broom.* AnimeAccentAbsence: While not a ''foreign'' character, Ohno spent about 8 years living in the US prior to the start of the series, and shouldn't be nearly as fluent in Japanese as she's portrayed. On the other hand, her English is grammatically correct, but her accent (in the anime) is absurdly thick for having spent her formative years abroad. Of course, this is due to the limits of the actress playing her.** Not necessarily: though Ohno lived in the US from age 10 to 18, it was because she had moved with her parents, so presumably they spoke Japanese at home. And Angela mentions that Ohno used to spend quite a bit of time with other Japanese people in the vicinity.* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: Keiko Sasahara to her brother Kanji. In contrast to Kanji the closet-otaku, she's a fashion-obsessed ''gyaru'' with an ever-changing list of boyfriends. She is immediately attracted to prettyboy Kousaka, spending the rest of the series trying to steal him away from Kasukabe, and joining the Genshiken in the process.** Can be seen as a subversion of the idealized "little sister" trope among Japanese otaku, as Keiko is anything but (and Kanji is quick to emphasize this).* ArtEvolution: The characters start out drawn fairly realistically, but grow more stylized and cartoonish as the series goes on. By the time the ninth volume rolls around, you wonder if this is how the characters in the first volume would have depicted ''themselves'' in a doujinshi.** The first season of the anime negates this somewhat, as it adapts the early chapters to a roughly mid-series art style. For the full effect, you have to read the manga.* ArtShift: The DatingSim parody, the yaoi parody, and whenever Kasukabe gets angry.** And in season two, whenever Ogiue lets her [[YaoiFangirl imagination get the best of her]].* AttractiveBentGender: [[spoiler:Hato]], much to Kuchiki's delight.** [[spoiler: And as as of Chapter 59, possibly Madarame's too.]]* BaitAndSwitchCredits: The second season's opening is Sasahara dreaming his life as a RealRobot mecha anime.* BandageBabe: Invoked by Tanaka and Madarame at the appearance of Ogiue, who had previously thrown herself out a second-story window and broken her arm.* BarbieDollAnatomy: When Kosukabe is in the shower.* BeachEpisode: "It's embarrassing to go to [=ComiFes=] with a tan."* BeardOfSorrow: Sasahara in the anime, when he believes he will never find a job.* BerserkButton: Ask Kasukabe if she's in Genshiken or if she'd like to cosplay. On second thought...don't ask her.** Or perhaps you should try disgracing the honor of cosplay around Ohno...*** Or trying to reveal her preferences for balder and older guys, she'll be going for your throat, literally!* {{Bishonen}}: Kousaka, bordering on DudeLooksLikeALady.* {{Blackmail}}: The first club president does this to Kasukabe to make her join Genshiken.** Also used by Kasukabe against [[spoiler: the club council president]] to prevent her from [[spoiler: closing Genshiken]] forever.* BlandNameProduct: Comifes, plus pretty much every anime or manga series mentioned—apart from ''KujibikiUnbalance'', which is more a pastiche of otaku-marketed {{Moe}}. Also, "Starbooks" Coffee, and "Kujifilm", which is also a pun on ''KujibikiUnbalance''. And the university itself, which is [[http://www.chuo-u.ac.jp Chuo University]] in real life but "Shio University" here. Also, don't forget "Pooky".* BlankFaceOfShame: Ogiue, shortly after she's revealed to be a YaoiFangirl and shortly before she tries jumping out a third story window because of it.* BlankWhiteEyes* BlindWithoutEm: Ogiue, when she trades her contact lenses for her old glasses in order not to be recognized at the convention.* ButtMonkey: Manabu Kuchiki; he rather enjoys it, and usually earns it.* CallBack: After a botched hazing at Ogiue's expense, it's revealed on video that she attended a doujinshi event, she makes the same expression Sasahara made when he was hazed after he got caught looking at the club's porn magazines.* CaptainOblivious: Once again, Kousaka.* CatGirl: Tanaka claims that wearing a pair of cat ears is the cheapest form of cosplay.* CensorSteam: A strange example, when Angela is shown naked from behind in the bath-house scene, her rear end is obscured with steam.* CelebrityParadox: Relatively speaking... in the omake for the KujibikiUnbalance manga, the Genshiken members happen across a new issue of the KujibikiUnbalance manga. While they immediately recognize the new artist for KujibikiUnbalance, they have no idea who Shimoku Kio, the creator of both Genshiken and KujibikiUnbalance, is.* ChildhoodFriendRomance: Kasukabe (the unlucky one), much to the surprise of the others, seemed to be like this with Kousaka until he agreed to date her.* ClingyJealousGirl: Kasukabe, though she outgrows this more and more as the series progresses.* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Kousaka, which causes Kasukabe a world of anguish because, well, see the immediately preceding trope** "Saki-chan's moe? You don't have any."* ClubPresident: The club goes through five of them by the end of the first series.* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Kousaka, all the time (except when gaming).** Also Kasukabe's reaction when Ogiue shows her the Sasa x Mada yaoi drawings: "...Two-timing?"* ConversationalTroping* CosplayOtakuGirl: Ohno. Also, Kasukabe the anti-otaku reluctantly cosplays when shamed into doing so. In the last OVA, initially-resistant YaoiFangirl Oguie is talked into cosplaying in private.* CouchGag: In the ending credits.* CovertPervert: Ogiue and Ohno.* CreepyChild: Ogiue's impression of Sue before getting to know her better.* CuteLittleFangs: Madarame has these. Well subverted in that Madarame is anything but cute, and some may see the little fang as one more element of his general creepiness.** Sue as well, but only when ''imitating Madarame''.* ADateWithRosiePalms: That's what male and female otaku use hentai for, according to the otaku themselves.* DatingSim: [[VisualNovelShot Parodied.]]* ADayInTheLimelight: Kuchiki gets his own episode about midway through season two, as well as the episode starring Madarame and Kasukabe alone in the clubroom.* DenserAndWackier: The novel has supernatural elements and a bizarre plot.* DigitalPiracyIsEvil: In the fanbook there are some short dialogues between the Genshiken members, and Kuchiki brings up that he downloads all of his software from the internet, which makes Sasahara think "He's such a jerk."** Sasahara does work in the media industry (as an editor), though, so his point of view isn't exactly unfounded.* {{Delinquents}}: Kanji Sasahara's sister is a ''[[RichBitch kogal]]''.** As a result, since Kanji is an otaku, SiblingYinYang.** Fortunately, she at least changes a little for the better at the end of the manga.* DemotedToExtra: In the anime, Keiko, Kanji's sister, has fewer appearances after her initial introductions than in the manga, with some of her later roles being filled by Kuchiki.* DoubleStandard: Kasukabe regularly punches strangers for doing as much as asking her if she's an otaku, but when Kuchiki donks Ogiue lightly on the head for repeatedly insulting him, she screams at him for "assaulting a woman", and promptly decks him.* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: When Angela takes off her top, Ohno punches her boyfriend Tanaka hard enough to knock him out just to prevent him from seeing Angela's flesh. This is PlayedForLaughs. There is also Saki's violence towards Sasahara (but only once, and she later apologizes), Kucchi (who brings it on himself), and Madarame (who actually likes getting hit by Saki and deliberately tries to provoke her into hitting him at least twice).* {{Doujinshi}}: Featured very prominently in the series: Sasahara spends the first few chapters getting used to buying erotic doujinshis, they never miss a single Comifes to return with entire trainloads of them, in the first few chapters of the second season they actually create one for the Comifes, and Ogiue later draws another one for the next Comifes.* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Ogiue threw herself off the roof of her old school after her "friends" betrayed her and traumatized her crush; her doing so after the Manga Club incident indicates she hasn't worked it out of her system. In later instances it's PlayedForLaughs, though.]]* ElephantInTheLivingRoom: Kousaka never realizes you aren't supposed to discuss it.* [[EvolvingCredits Evolving End Credits]]: Each episode has subtle differences on the "Genshiken members sitting in the clubroom watching TV" end sequence, putting in or taking out characters and changing how they look. For example, episode 4 (which ended with Kasukabe going on a rampage after Madarame stuck a pair of cat ears on her) has everyone slumped over the table looking worn out, with Ohno standing nearby still dressed as [[GuiltyGear Jam Kuradoberi.]]* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Keiko puts it bluntly that she's very sure everyone knew about [[spoiler: Madarame's feelings for Kasukabe, probably even Kasukabe herself]].* ExpospeakGag: The episode titles of the anime's first season, which describe aspects of otaku-culture in the academic argot of a graduate thesis. For instance, the episode titled "The Fetishism of Leisure Time Expenditures Considered by their Economic Result" is about the younger Sasahara deciding to "become an otaku" (''fetishizing'' the idea of "otaku" itself) because she thinks doing so will have the ''result'' of getting Kousaka to notice her, not because she actually enjoys said "''leisure time expenditures''".* ExpressiveHair: Ogiue.* EyesAlwaysShut: Tanaka.* FakeOutOpening: The first episode of the anime actually starts out as the intro, OP and first few seconds afterwards of Kujibiki Unbalance, before revealing that it's actually Sasahara watching the show. It goes on just long enough to make the viewer wonder if they're watching the wrong show by mistake.* FauxFluency: Ohno's "English" dialogue in the anime. One can imagine AyakoKawasumi reading off a card written entirely in Katakana, with Creator/YukoGoto and Creator/YukiKaida (competent and fluent in English, respectively) standing beside her and shaking their heads.* FishOutOfWater: Kasukabe.* {{Fanservice}}: While the manga has some of this, the anime is ''rife'' with this, especially during the episodes covering [=ComicFes=], half of this is supplied by...* ForeignFanservice: Angela, the fit foreign bird who eagerly takes off her top in the presence of Ohno's boyfriend.* FunbagAirbag: Ogiue running into much taller and bustier Ohno.* GeniusDitz: Kousaka. While he appears to be extremely manipulable and oblivious to most things, he is unbeatable at videogames and manages to secure a respectable career at the end of the series.* GenkiGirl: Yoshitake and Susan in Chapter 56.* GenreSavvy: Obviously.* GlamourFailure: Figuratively speaking. Hato's upperclassman, when she finally appears in the flesh, has very noticeable sacks under her eyes and generally looks a lot thinner and "imperfect" than she always does in his imagination. He is very startled when his "inner female" (that looks like an idealized version of the girl) suddenly transforms for a moment into the "real" one, giving her a far more sinister look. * GentleGiant: Kugayama; tall, huge, fat, and so shy he even finds it hard to talk to a cashier.* GratuitousJapanese: Most of Sue's dialogue, though much of it seems strangely appropriate for the situation. It [[ObfuscatingStupidity might not be an accident]].* HandBehindHead* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: [[spoiler:Hato, usually in response to his inner maiden.]]* HoYay: Madarame/Sasahara get a lot of doujinshi and fanart devoted to them most likely because of Ogiue's event in the manga and anime.** In-universe, Madarame gets involved in both Ogiue's and Hato's yaoi fantasies.** There's a few moments between Kasukabe and Ohno.* HotBlooded: Madarame, as voiced by NobuyukiHiyama.* HotSpringsEpisode: While the bath is more of a semi-outdoor furo -- much to the characters' disappointment -- they nonetheless self-consciously treat it as a hot springs episode, complete with lampshading, when Ohno prompts Kasukabe on the lines she's supposed to say as the two share the bath.* HugeSchoolgirl: Sort of. Although a university student, Ohno is unusually tall and busty and at the same time shy about her physique. Except when cosplaying.** Katou, who seems to be friends with Ohno, fits as well, with the other members of the manga club barely reaching her shoulder. She's more of the willowy type.* IAlwaysWantedToSayThat: [[MobileSuitGundam "Not even my own father hit me."]] in the manga after Kanji is on the receiving end of a slap by Kasukabe. Kasukabe, being completely out of the anime loop, takes it seriously at first until the other club members congratulate him.** In ''Nidaime'', Kuchiki uses Hato's crossdressing as an excuse to say, "There's no way anyone that cute could be a real girl," and then says he can die happy now.* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: See ExpospeakGag, above.** Which may reference the first President's research project, having used the Genshiken club as research subjects without their knowledge. Once he's gone (to write his doctoral thesis), the episode titles become much more mundane.* IHaveThisFriend* IgnoreTheFanservice: Kasukabe starts hitting on Kousaka in the most blatant way possible... and he just goes out to line up for a videogame release.* IronicEcho: Sue goes meta and quotes ''Genshiken itself'' in chapter 56, when Ogiue is fretting over the club's eclectic group of new recruits. Predictably, Ogiue panics when her infamous self-introduction is presented out-of-context to the new members, as she screams for Sue to shut up before she gets to the part about yaoi fangirls.** [[LampshadeHanging "How do you know about that?!"]]*** Since Sue [[SpeaksInShoutouts only speaks in anime quotes]], [[BreakingTheFourthWall she must've watched the series]].* IfItsYouItsOkay: [[spoiler: Its still a little unclear whether Hato is a homosexual or just Madarame-sexual. He strongly denies being a homosexual and yet admits to being in love with Madarame, though since switching one's sexuality just for one person is pretty much impossible in real life, he's likely bisexual.]]* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Madarame gives this as the reason for why he does not want to tell his feelings to Saki in the novel.* {{Jerkass}}: Haraguchi, also a SmugSnake.* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Yabusaki. She terrorized Ogiue when they were in the manga club but Katou later reveals that it was just a front. Later on she helps Sasahara to understand Ogiue, at least from her perspective.* KansaiRegionalAccent: Yabusaki, who [[HypocriticalHumor upbraids Ogiue for slipping into Tohoku-ben]] when she gets flustered.* KaraokeBox: They go to one to help Kugayama become more outgoing - he ends up interrupting Madarame's performance of the CombattlerV theme.* LampshadeHanging: Well this ''IS'' a series about an otaku club, this sort of thing is bound to happen at least once... or a few dozen times.* LanguageOfLove: Angela and Madarame.* LastEpisodeNewCharacter: Ogiue.* LeftHanging: The second season of the anime doesn't cover the final arc of the manga, leaving about two and a half volumes' worth of material un-animated. Though there ''is'' a new series, it's an adaption of ''Nidaime''.** It's even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d, as the preview for the last episode has Madarame stating proudly "INCOMPLETE ANIME ARE THE BEST EVER!"* LimpAndLivid* LoudspeakerTruck* LovableNerd: Pretty much the entire cast.* LoveConfession: [[spoiler: Madarame tries to confess his feelings for Saki in chapter 53, but is unable to and just ends up "thanking" her for putting up with the club for four years. He finally confesses in chapter 80 of Nidaime, and is turned down.]]* ManipulativeBastard: Although many circles admit that Haraguchi is very capable of making a plan to sell 3000 copies of doujin at the price of 1000 yen in a single day without any of them doing any work, they all know none of them would see a sen of it.* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: Yajima is... not as skilled with being a manga assistant as the other members of Genshiken...-->''It's a scene of pure chaos with everyone helping President Ogiue meet her deadline for the 52-page long second half of her serialized story.''-->''[[WholesomeCrossdresser Hato Kenjirou]], the'' '''guy''' ''now completely in charge of doing the backgrounds.''-->''The peerlessly steady-handed inker and white-outer, [[PhenotypeStereotype Suzanna Hopkins]].''-->''[[GenkiGirl Yoshitake Rika]], now capable of cutting and pasting in simple tones!''-->''Yajima Mirei, female.''* NecktieLeash: Just the thing to set Ogiue's fujoshi imagination alight...* NerdGlasses: Madarame's regular glasses. Also Ogiue's old glasses. Good thing she changed for contact lenses.* NoDialogueEpisode: Chapter 54 covers the rest of the current school year (several days) without any dialogue and still manages to focus on Madarame's lingering crush on Kasukabe. The only sound heard is Madarame laughing, and [[CannotSpitItOut we know]] [[AbortedDeclarationOfLove why]].* NoodleImplements: Yoshitake is badgering Yajima, saying they can ask [[WholesomeCrossdresser Hato]] all the things they couldn't ask before they knew him. Suitably primed, Yajima finds a strangely suggestive piece of plastic left in the clubroom and both their imaginations run rampant.* NoodleIncident: Exactly what Ogiue said to the girls of the Manga Club before she joined the Genshiken is never revealed, but it was bad enough to split it up into warring factions.** Also summoned when they discuss the difference between a scene from the ''KujibikiUnbalance'' manga and its anime counterpart: while the manga has the girl just saying "If I stop being a crybaby...", the anime also has her saying "... will you be my bride?". The club agrees the manga did better by leaving it unexplained.* NotHelpingYourCase* NotNowKiddo: Kuchiki notices someone stealing costumes, but nobody will listen to him...* OccidentalOtaku: Angela and Sue.* OfficialCouple: Kasukabe and Kousaka of course, Tanaka and Ohno, and later [[spoiler: Sasahara and Ogiue.]]* OlderThanTheyLook: Everyone speculates just how old the Prez actually was after finding a box of his old manga 'zines, all of which dated back to ''1987''.** Yoshitake is past 20 despite her teenage appearance. To confuse the issue further, [[spoiler: her sister]] is herself YoungerThanSheLooks and looks like the older one.* {{Omake}}* {{Otaku}}* OutOfFocus: Since ''Nidaime'', some of the former Genshiken members have pretty much disappeared from the radar, save occasional appearances. Not too surprising for Kasukabe and Kousaka, a bit more for Sasahara since he's Ogiue's boyfriend. Actually, even Ogiue seems more and more absent in the latst chapters, the story being increasingly focused on Hato.** Which was explicitly the point of ''Nidaime'', to show what was happening with the new Genshiken membership. However, a drifting focus has been built into the series from the start as leadership has changed hands and the group has added and lost members. Kasukabe and her struggles with understanding otaku took much of the early focus; it drifted more onto Sasahara for his tenure as president; Ogiue grabbed the focus once her backstory started to come out, and now it's drifted towards the new group with Hato. Meanwhile, the other characters have moved in and out, retaining a secondary focus and sometimes losing it. [[TruthInTelevision It's remarkably alike to the feeling of watching a real college club evolve over several years as membership changes and the social circles rebalance.]]* {{Parody}}: The {{OVA}}s opening title parodies the opening theme of the remade version of KujibikiUnbalance: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4IF_7UWJZE See Here]].* PhenotypeStereotype: Ohno's two American friends (and fellow Otaku) Angela and Sue are both pale and blonde, the former being blue-eyed and the latter green-eyed.* {{Plotbunny}}: Ogiue just can't help herself when she gets an idea.* PlotHole: A flash forward at the end of the original manga series shows 3 normal guys walking into the Genshiken room sometime in the future. However, in the first chapter of the new series, the author clearly changed his mind and made the new members 3 girls [[spoiler: actually 2 girls and a "girl"]]. The inconsistency was never explained.* PostModernism* ProgressivelyPrettier: Happens to everyone, Madarame in particular benefits.* ProudToBeAGeek: Kuchiki, who is shameless about it and to a MUCH more appropriate degree, Madarame, who is may even be MORE shameless about it.** Yoshitake too, except without most of that shamelessness.* RapunzelHair: Ohno has hair down to her hips. It's useful for all her cosplay. Sue has hair of similar length.* RealityEnsues: One of the arcs in ''Nidame'' concerns [[spoiler:Hato and his confusion over his feelings for Madarame]]. Yoshitake tells Yajima that while 'falling for a straight friend' is the preface to many yaoi couples, it pretty much always results in heartbreak in real life.* ReferenceOverdosed* {{Retcon}}: Angela's introduction scene with Madarame in the Anime gets referenced in ''Nidaime'' despite never appearing in the manga prior, because the author really liked it.* SchoolClubsAreSeriousBusiness: The people who decide which clubs are official are cracking down on those that don't do anything, because there are so many clubs that even the Genshiken's remote space is coveted.* SceneryCensor: The second series inserts a FuroScene where, possibly in the interests of fanservice, Sue flashes Ogiue.* SecretKeeper: It's implied that Ohno is this for Madarame. Then it turns out to be TheNotSecret.* SeriousBusiness: Each character is completely devoted to his/her hobbies. Best exemplified in Madarame's expense management and his rant about 2D vs. 3D. See the quote atop this page.** ''Nidaime'' reflects a sea change in fandom - a slackening of the seriousness of hobbies. The new members do take them seriously, but it's no longer their identity.* SequentialArtist: 2 specific arcs are built around attempting to be in this trope. Ougi creates the [[YaoiFanGirl Yaoi]] variety.* SexyDiscretionShot: [[spoiler:Sasahara and Ogiue get one of these after they start kissing when she shows him her Yaoi {{Doujinshi}} [[MakesSenseInContext of him and Madarame.]]]]* ScareChord: Prez's appearances are often accompanied by one in the anime, just to underline how creepy he is.* ScaryShinyGlasses: Kitagawa, and sometimes Madarame.* SceneryPorn* SchoolFestival* ShipSinking: As of Chapter 80, [[spoiler:Madarame x Saki]] is given a viking funeral.* ShipTease: The novel has some pretty blatant ShipTease for Madarame X Kasukabe.** ''SpottedFlower'' is all about a suspiciously familiar otaku and his pregnant non-otaku wife. It's possible this was a bone thrown to all the Mada x Saki shippers.* ShowWithinAShow: ''KujibikiUnbalance''* ShoutOut: So, so many, often under fake names - ''CodeGeass'', for instant, is "Code Bleed" or something. ''LuckyStar'' can be briefly seen as a very popular Doujin at Comifes. And there was a hell of a lot of ''GuiltyGear'' in the first season. This gets switched to ''VideoGame/KingOfFighters'' XI during the three special episodes in between seasons 1 and 2.** In the very first episode, Tanaka's ringtone is shown to be an 8-bit version of 'Hurry' from the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'' OST.** Good thing the fansubs offer footnotes about the fake names in the manga and anime.*** While sadly, the official translations of both, do not.** Also, the anime has the beeping clock from ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'' during the third day of the 2004 Comiket/Comifest, when the ''Genshiken'' first enters as a vendor.** Obviously, all instances of Ohno and the others cosplaying count too. Like [[VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}} KOS-MOS]] and [[TengenToppaGurrenLagann Yoko]].*** Or [[Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt Panty and Stocking]] in [[http://www.mangareader.net/genshiken/63/21 this]] more recent chapter.** Sasahara notices a man with v-cut blonde hair who looks "too cool" to be an otaku at his first [=ComiFest=]. In the adult doujinshi section. [[Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka Now, how many other blonde, v-haircut pervert otaku do we know?...]]** One episode had Sasahara and Madarame playing [[NintendoDS DS]]. You can't actually SEE what they are playing, but the BGM of the game is the regular battle theme from ''[[VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey Etrian Odyssey I]]''.** Pretty much everything Sue says is a reference to other manga/anime. One time she recited several lines of dialogue between Kagura and Chiyo from ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' (from the "Osaka's Half Day" special), culminating in her punching Sasahara in the stomach (at the point in the dialogue where Kagura punched Osaka, in an attempt to cure Osaka's hiccups). It's stated that he caught the reference and therefore "knew what was coming", and [[RuleOfFunny let it happen anyway]].** When [[spoiler: Hato's inner maiden]] fantasizes about Madarame, he responds with a "Shut up, 801-chan!" which is a reference to fujoshi-to-perfect-girl-evolution manga {{Tonari no 801-chan}} which itself had references to the ''original'' Genshiken. It's like a full circle of referencing.** Chapter 56 has Sue channeling [[LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}} Senjougahara Hitagi and Hachikuji Mayoi.]]*** She's also taken on Oshino Shinobu, albeit with some more... realistic... undergarments.** The opening intro for Nidaime had Sue dressed up as [[VisualNovel/RoboticsNotes Frau Kojirou]].** They went absolutely nuts on cosplay in [[http://ogiuemaniax.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/the-cosplay-id-game-for-comic-festival-in-genshiken-second-season-episodes-4-and-5/ Episodes 4 and 5]] of "Second Season". Let's see, there were [[MadokaMagica Kyubey and friends]], [[SuiseiNoGargantia Chamber, Amy and Saaya]], Yamada from ''KujibikiUnbalance'', [[PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt Panty and Stocking]], [[Manga/CuticleDetectiveInaba Don Valentino]], [[YondemasuyoAzazelsan Azazel]], a [[Manga/AttackOnTitan Titan]], [[LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}} Tsukihi and Karen Araragi]], [[Anime/PsychoPass Akane Tsunemori and Shinya Kougami]], [[VocaLoid Miku and Rin]]...* ShrinesAndTemples: The club members visit the Narita Temple during New Year's Eve)* SkinshipGrope: Lampshaded and ''then'' played straight, when Ohno fails to get Ogiue interested in her breasts, but Sasahara's sister proves all too willing to get a feel of them.* SpecialEditionTitle: The series opens with the ''KujibikiUnbalance'' opening credits.* SpinOff: ''KujibikiUnbalance''* SpoilerOpening: Kasukabe's cosplay.* StealthHiBye: Prez.* StockFootage: That [[GuiltyGear Sol vs. Jam match]]? Expect to see the exact same footage a lot, even when different people are playing. Fortunately, the final episode of the first season mixes it up with different footage, as well as the OP.* StringyHairedGhostGirl: Referenced by Katou of the rival Manga Club, who wears her hair over her face; but subverted when she brushes it away and reveals that her eyes and facial features are actually quite pretty.* StupidSexyFlanders: In the manga, the rest of the guys comment on how Kousaka's legs look when he crossplays. Oguie just asks "Is he really a guy?". It's hammed up even more in the anime.* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: Rather realistically, Ohno and Kasukabe speak rather correct English with one hell of a rough Japanese accent, while Angela actually sounds convincingly American even when played by a Japanese {{seiyuu}}.** Although Angela's choice of words (lack of slang and all) make it harder to swallow. She says "sensible" where she obviously means to say "sensitive". Normally such a mistake would go all but unnoticed, but she has an entire monologue about the "sensibility" of Japanese men and so repeats it enough for it to become very jarring for English speakers.* TakeThat: Not too prevalent, given that it's a series about enjoying being an Otaku, but in one episode preview the club members mention that you really shouldn't sing [[LuckyStar "Motteke! Sailor Fuku!"]] and [[Literature/HaruhiSuzumiya "Hare Hare Yukai"]] in public.* TechnologyMarchesOn: In one chapter, Madarame looks up a PC catalog and marvels at the 200 GB sizes of American hard-drives. The chapter was released in 2002, so that sort of size was high end at the time. Currently, 200 GB hard-drives pale in comparison to the now more standard 1 TB models.* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Kasukabe saves the club for precisely this reason.* ThatOnePlayer: Kousaka.* TookALevelInBadass: A mild example, but the novel features Madarame leading the charge against [[spoiler: some people who have taken over the university club system by throwing molotov cocktails to break down a barricade. Saki and Kugayama also get in on the action, with Kugayama tearing down some of the barricade with his bare hands and bodily strength.]]* TheRival: Yabusaki, artist for the Manga club.* {{Tsundere}}: Ogiue, so adorable but so mean too. Poor Sasahara.** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the bonus chapter of the final volume.** As their friendship develops, Saki becomes quite a bit nicer to Madarame.* TohokuRegionalAccent: Ogiue usually speaks in formal Standard Japanese, but reverts to her native Tohoku dialect when she gets nervous or embarrassed, which only serves to throw her further into panic-mode.* TimeSkip: A slight one in Chapter 56, which was created and released as a bonus together with the Japanese "Genshiken 2" box-set. The chapter told us what the characters had become, and what's going on the Genshiken club right now.* TrueCompanions: The Genshiken members, are very close friends. Even after they have graduated from College and are no longer official members of the club, they still like to keep in touch and help each other out.* TwelveEpisodeAnime: Two seasons' worth, plus the three OVA episodes.* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: The series is a snapshot of the Japanese ''otaku'' subculture as it was at the time it was first published / aired. The references are contemporary, and it notably deals with the ''{{Moe}}'' boom and (to an extent) the "mainstreaming" of otakudom around the middle of the TurnOfTheMillennium. The gap between the old guard and the new generation is [[http://ogiuemaniax.wordpress.com/2011/06/24/the-appearing-and-disappearing-wave-of-generational-change-in-genshiken-ii-volume-1genshiken-volume-10/ increasingly evident]] in ''Nidaime'', where the idea of "otaku" has gone from something of an internalized, somewhat shameful identity to a (relatively) unstigmatized descriptor of someone who enjoys his or her hobbies with a shameless, fiery passion.* UnsettlingGenderReveal: Usually happens to people when they're told about [[WholesomeCrossdresser Hato]], like in chapters 56 and 78. * UnstoppableRage: Early in the series when Madarame placed cat ears on Kasukabe.** Kasukabe in general. About ninety percent of the violence inflicted in the club has had something to do with her.* VagueAge: Ohno refuses to elaborate on Sue's age. And with good reason, given that [[spoiler:she was the one that introduced Sue to yaoi, most possibly ''[[WhatTheHellHero at a rather young age]]''.]]* VitriolicBestBuds: Kasukabe claims to hate the otakus at Genshiken, but she still hangs around the clubroom without Kousaka there, and is more than willing to stand up for them.** Keiko eventually tolerates Genshiken's members to the point where she can casually talk to them, although it's mostly her trying to advertise the bar she works for.* WallOfText: If given a good enough reason, [[http://www.mangareader.net/genshiken/58/5 Yoshitake will go off on her own tangent]].* WardrobeFlawOfCharacterization: Madarame spends the better part of one episode considering the slovenly state of his wardrobe and agonizing over the high cost of stylish clothes. He finally [[SeriousBusiness screws up his courage]] enough to buy some very nice clothes that earn a stamp of approval from TheFashionista of the group. However, at the end of the episode it's revealed that he now wears [[LimitedWardrobe the exact same outfit]] every time stylish clothes are called for.* WebcomicTime: A one-off form of it, when the series got {{Uncancelled}} after about four and a half years, but events in-series had only moved on a couple months at most. Suddenly characters move from making references to series current to early and mid 2006, to referencing series that wouldn't even have existed yet if a strict chronology was followed on with the continuation. Angela's references to the ''LightNovel/{{Bakemonogatari}}'' series get only the narrowest pass if she's quoting the original light novel which came out within the rough time of ''Nidaime'' thus far, but the ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' cosplay doesn't fit anywhere.** Showcased even more blatantly in the animated ''Nidaime'''s Comifest episode, where aside from the aforementioned ''Madoka Magica'' cosplays, one can spot ''Manga/NamiuchigiwaNoMuromisan'' and ''Anime/SuiseiNoGargantia'' cosplay. Later on there's even a reference to ''Anime/{{Free}}''.* WholesomeCrossdresser: Kousaka, who crossplays to help sell ''{{doujinshi}}''. He doesn't expect Kasukabe to show up when she does.** Also, [[spoiler:Hato]] in chapter 56.* WillTheyOrWontThey: Stretched out a bit in the anime with Ohno and Tanaka. In the manga, they hook up offscreen and reveal that they are already a couple when Kasukabe teases them about their relationship, catching her off-guard (she's actually the last to know). In the anime, they are much more timid about things and need Kasukabe to play matchmaker, helping them overcome their mutual fear of rejection.** This is much truer of Sasahara and Oguie's false starts at their relationship, with lots of matchmaking going on behind the scenes by Ohno, Kasukabi, and Madarame to get them together. While the anime never reached far enough along in the manga's storyline to see the Genshiken vacation where Sasahara and Oguie finally express their feelings, the anime shoehorned those emotional elements into Tanaka and Ohno's relationship. It still works, but seems a bit strange after reading the manga first.* YamatoNadeshiko: Oddly enough, Hato [[spoiler:the crossdresser]] in chapter 56. Though it makes sense: [[spoiler:to actually ''pass'' as the opposite sex, one has to not only ''look'' it, but also ''speak'' and ''act'' in a way that epitomizes that gender, down to body-language. This hyper-femininity is presumably what Saki picks up on when she meets him.]]* YaoiFangirl: Ohno and Ogiue.** Season two, episode five. Not content with hinting, they ''animate'' Ogiue's fantasies. [[{{Squick}} Be afraid]], [[GuyOnGuyIsHot or not]], [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments or collapse from laughter]].** Incidentally, all the girls who joined Genshiken under Ogiue's tenure of presidency.* YaoiGuys: Well, sort of. Resident yaoi-fangirl-in-denial Ogiue sees one of the other club members pulling another's tie, and gets inspired to draw some ''very'' hardcore yaoi of the two of them. To make things stranger, one of them is actually her love interest. And just to top it off, he didn't mind all that much, even giving her tips on how to make the story better.** "Mind all that much"? After finishing with the Ogiue-drawn yaoi, Sasahara admits that "it got hard".** There's a reason though. Basically she drew her ideal version of the two characters as {{Bishonen}} that don't really resemble the real Sasahara and Madarame so he didn't recognize the two characters as himself and Madarame and since he is in love with her he wanted to help her and spend time with her.** One of Hato's ''many'' explanations for crossdressing is his fantasies of an [[spoiler: eventual Hato x Mada]] event.* ZombieApocalypse: Discussed a bit by Ohno and Tanaka in the novel ''Genshiken: Return of the Otaku''.----